


Trainspotting AU - Harry Potter universe

by orphan_account



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Trainspotting (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Harry Potter Setting, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-05
Updated: 2020-07-06
Packaged: 2021-03-03 19:13:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,565
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24560617
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Mark Renton, Simon Williamson, Spud Murphy and Francis Begbie are four young wizards entering their first year at Hogwarts.
Comments: 6
Kudos: 10





	1. Here Comes The Anxiety

**Author's Note:**

> This fic was inspired by a series of drawings made by @intericeage on Twitter, check her out she makes amazing art!  
> Also this is my first attempt at the written Scottish accent, hope it's not too awful! (and also I'm not a native English speaker, so feel free to point out any spelling mistakes!)  
> And special thanks to Matty for helping me with the story :)

“So, whit ur ye thinkin? Where ur we gonnae be?”  
Mark looked up from his book at Simon, who was visibly expecting an answer.  
“Come oan, whit is this question mate? Surely wi’ll be Gryffindor!”, Franco answered immediately, and Simon nodded. If there was one thing these two agreed on, it was this. In fact, Mark couldn’t remember a time when Franco hadn’t been vocal about this. But from what Mark could remember, neither of Franco’s parents had been Gryffindors, so he really didn’t understand how he could be so sure that he would be one.  
“Ah don’t ken, man”, Mark added after a while. He studied his three friends attentively, trying to find a common attribute in all of them. Truth is, they’d all known each other since childhood, but he wasn’t even sure why they stuck together in the first place: they truly were nothing alike.  
Spud hadn’t said a word since they got onto the Hogwarts Express, instead twirling with his new wand in silence. Mark could clearly understand why: Spud was the only Muggleborn out of all of them, and he didn’t really know what he was getting into. Granted, none of them did, but at least they’d all had the ‘magic talk’ before leaving for Hogwarts. Spud didn’t: he’d always known about wizards and witches because he’d accidentally grown up around so many, but he never thought he could be one. When his 11th birthday came around and he received the letter, he realised he didn’t really want to be one anyways. He was content being the dumb, muggle friend, but here he was now. Franco and Simon were now going on about how perfect Gryffindors they were, and Mark knew that didn’t help Spud at all. The thing he seemed to be fearing most was exactly that, being a Gryffindor, because he didn’t feel an ounce brave, and being dubbed that would be a heavy weight to bear. Still, Mark sat in silence, because he didn’t know what he could say to help Spud relax.  
Mark himself didn’t feel too Gryffindor either, but he didn’t care the way Spud did. Sure, his brother Billy was a Gryffindor, and his parents would be very disappointed if Mark wasn’t, but he could live with that. He didn’t feel he particularly belonged to any house, but he’d be content everywhere. Mark feared change, and knowing he’d be with his four mates like he’d always been no matter what was reassuring.  
“Anything from the trolley?” came from the corridor, making Spud jump. Simon fished out coins from his jean pockets, and beckoned the trolley lady over.  
“Ah’ll take Every Flavoured Beans, and ma mate here”, he said, motioning towards Spud, “will huv a Chocolate frog”.   
The lady handed Spud his frog, who sat frozen in his spot. Simon looked pleased with himself, but he caught Mark’s death stare and quickly uttered:  
“Isnae a real frog, but thir’s a spell oan it. It jumps an aw. Be careful wit it”  
Spud carefully opened the box, and took the frog into his hands.  
“Ah’m supposed tae eat that? It looks too cute, likesay”, Spud said, looking downright outraged. “Take it, Mark, ah will no touch it”. Mark was more than happy to oblige, and he stuffed it into his mouth.  
“Ah think wi’ll be arriving soon”, he told the others through the chocolate, “we should change intae our wizard clothes”  
Mark tried his best to look confident and reassuring when he noticed Spud’s trembling hands. He leaned towards him, and murmured quietly: “Ye’ll make a great wizard, mate. Gryffindor or no Gryffindor”. Spud looked at him, and managed a smile for the first time in hours.

“That’s one big lad”, Franco laughed. Mark was about to argue that those weren’t things to joke about, but then he noticed Hagrid, and he decided to let it pass. That WAS one big lad, there was no denying it.  
“First years, follow me!”, he bellowed, and the quartet followed him to the lake.  
“Boats, fuck yes!”, exclaimed Simon, and he pulled his friends in the farthest one from Hagrid. “He’d make us drown”, he explained to a perplexed looking Spud.  
Francis and Simon spent the rest of the ride wondering how exactly Hagrid fit in a chair, and Mark put his hand in the water before quickly taking it out. “It’s cauld that!”, he said, trying to shake the water off. That proved to be a bad idea, as a drop landed on Simon’s face.  
“This means war mate”, he announced, before launching at Mark and tackling him. Mark retaliated by splashing as much water on his hair as possible, making it look damp and flat, everything Simon hates. Franco cheered on as Simon and Mark continued fake fighting each other, laughing too much to do any proper damage.  
“And ye said it wis Hagrid whae wis gonnae make us fall over”, Spud mumbled disappointedly.  
None of them had taken the time to admire the castle, too focused on their shenanigans. Their boat eventually arrived ashore, and Simon removed himself from on top of Mark, allowing them to take Hogwarts in.  
“Fuck me, it’s beautiful”, Mark gasped, and for once Simon agreed with him. Hagrid helped them out of their boat, and the group of first years entered the castle, Simon’s hair still dripping onto his shoulders.  
The Great Hall was nothing like any of them had ever seen. Unsurprisingly, Spud was the most amazed of them all. His head moved in all directions, trying to take it all in. Mark noticed the four tables of students, and tried to make out his brother in the crowd. Despite everything he told himself, he still felt quite uneasy thinking about not being in the same house as Billy. For a quick second, he thought of begging the Sorting Hat to be a Gryffindor. But then he remembered bravery and loyalty, and he once and for all decided he didn’t want to be a Gryffindor. No matter what Simon or Franco might say, it wasn’t what he wanted for himself. He just hoped the hat would still put them in the same house. Especially Simon.  
The ceremony began, and Professor McGonagall started calling out the students’ names. The boys waited nervously, knowing Franco would be the first one to go, and sure enough, McGonagall’s voice was heard:  
“Begbie, Francis!”  
Franco walked up to the stool, trying to look as confident as possible. Mark wasn’t fooled; in fact he’d never seen Franco look this nervous, and he’d known the guy for 8 years. Mark watched as his friend put the hat on, and it seemed to think only for a short instant before bellowing:  
“SLYTHERIN!”  
Franco rose up as the Slytherin table erupted in cheers and applause. His eyes found Simon’s, and he mouthed “Slytherin?”, looking absolutely crestfallen. He made his way to the table, his head down, lacking every ounce of confidence he had before. He sat down next to older students, people that were now like his second family, and he felt absolutely cheated. That wasn’t supposed to happen! It wasn’t part of the deal! On the other side of the room, Mark and Simon looked at each other, confused.  
“Ah thought ye could ask the hat tae sort ye in a certain house?”, Simon asked, his voice strangely high-pitched.  
Spud looked even worse than the two; his whole plan had revolved around asking the hat to not make him a Gryffindor. Well, if Franco couldn’t be a Gryffindor like he so desperately wanted, then why would the Sorting Hat ever listen to Spud?  
He didn’t have long to change strategies however, because McGonagall called out his name a few minutes later.  
“Murphy, Daniel!”  
Simon nudged Mark and whispered:  
“Thir’s no wae this one’ll be a Slytherin. So much for aw being in the same house!”  
The walk to the hat was short, but to Spud it felt like hours were dragged into his steps. The Sorting Hat was way too big for his head, and as he put it on it covered half of his face so that he couldn’t see the room anymore. Spud could hear it mumbling, and it seemed to take ages before he finally heard him speak:  
“Hm yes, yes, I think I know where you belong”  
And then, seconds later, it said out loud:  
“HUFFLEPUFF!”  
Spud took the hat off and glanced at Mark and Simon. Simon’s mouth was agape, but Mark looked less surprised than his friend. He gave Spud the thumbs up, and that lit a smile over his face. Spud walked to his table, and conveniently forgot to watch Franco’s reaction. So that was it, then. Hufflepuff.  
Mark was to be next, and Simon was looking increasingly worried.  
“Don’t leave us, mate!”, he begged Mark, like it would make a difference.Simon hadn’t really thought about where he wanted to go before; he always thought he’d be a Gryffindor, like his parents and grandparents before him, but now everything seemed to be falling around him. He didn’t know anything anymore, and all he wished for was to be in the same house as his best friend. Franco and Spud were already scattered in two completely different houses, which, when he thought about it, really made sense, but he refused to see it. Just like he refused to see how him and Mark were also very different people. So when his name was called and Mark gave him one last look, all he could do was cross his fingers.  
Mark saw his brother waving in the crowd, but he didn’t find it in him to wave back. Somehow, he knew he wasn’t going to be in the same house as Billy. He was sure of it now, and that didn’t bother him too much. No, the main problem at hand was Simon. Because even if he’d always known in the back of his mind that Spud and Franco couldn’t fit in the same house, having it happen before his very eyes was a whole other story. Now, he wasn’t so sure that he’d still have Simon by his side like he had been before. Mark didn’t really care where he’d get sorted, and he stood by that, but he didn’t want to leave his best mate behind. Or be left behind. Either way, he didn’t feel too good about his options as he put the hat on.  
As soon as the hat touched his head, Mark heard its voice almost from within his own mind.  
“No, definitely not like your brother. You have a big secret, don’t you? I know just the place for you.”  
And then:  
“RAVENCLAW!”  
Mark got up, a wee bit stunned, but a feeling of pride like he’d never had before swelled up in his chest. The house of the clever and the witty. That had a nice ring to his ears. He didn’t look at his brother as he sat down, but he could feel Simon’s eyes boring into him even from the other side of the Great Hall.  
Simon found himself forgetting about his great Gryffindor ideals, wishing nothing more at this very moment than to be a Ravenclaw. He quickly tried to remember quotes from books he’d read and names of famous philosophers, trying to gain ten years of education in five minutes. The results seemed to be mixed however, as the hat didn’t hesitate much before crying out:  
“GRYFFINDOR!”  
So there they were, he thought sadly, rejoining the cheering Gryffindors. The four best mates in the world, now forced to live different lives.  
“Nothing will change”, Simon told himself as he spent his meal in silence, his head almost into his plate.  
“Nothing needs tae change”, he repeated when Dumbledore announced the end of the ceremony and the students made their way out. “Nothing needs tae change”, but no matter how much he tried, he couldn’t find Mark, or Spud or Franco in the crowd.


	2. As It Was

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> after a full month, here i am again! sorry for the time this chapter took, hope you enjoy it anyways!

Simon woke up in an unfamiliar setting. Where was he? Why hadn’t his parents woken him up yet? He could see light coming through his bed’s curtains, surely it was time.  
Wait... curtains?  
Simon sat up, and everything came back to him. The train, the boats, the ceremony, the indescribable sense of loss, all of it.  
He didn’t have much time to look back on last night’s events though, as a hand shook his curtain, and a thick English accent came through.  
« Oi, first year! You should get up now if you don’t want to miss breakfast! »  
« Awright mate, thank you », Simon answered, not one bit confident.  
He quickly dressed up and opened his curtains, but the boy had already left. He took a look around his bedroom and realised the three other beds were most-definitely empty.  
« Shite », he muttered, quickly getting out of the room.  
He hadn’t taken too much time the previous night to appreciate the Great Hall, and he couldn’t help but stop upon entering, feeling in awe. The ceiling reflected the cloudy sky, and the Hall was full of students eating their breakfast and chatting with each other. Simon couldn’t remember ever seeing this many people at once, except at the stadium, but it was never people his age.  
He made his way past the different friend groups, but couldn’t find any of his own. They must’ve gone already, Simon was amongst the latest to come down. He sat at the Gryffindor table next to a particularly loud group of people, hoping to be forgotten.  
« C’mon James, I’m telling you I can catch it in my mouth! Just try me! »  
Simon watched as the boy, clearly older than he was, chucked a piece of bread at his friend, which landed pathetically on his face. He couldn’t suppress a snort, and the boy closest to him turned his head at the noise.  
« Hey, are you alone? »  
« Yeah, I am », he answered shyly.  
A look of realisation fell on the other boy’s face.  
« You’re the Scottish guy! I’m the one who woke you up for breakfast », he explained, extending his hand. « I’m Remus, I’m a fourth year »  
They shook hands, which frankly surprised Simon, and Remus introduced him to his friends. There was James, Sirius (who now had bread crumbs all over his hair), and Peter, a rather quiet boy (or quieter than the other three, at least).  
« Tell me, do you have any friends, Simon? », Sirius leaned forward and asked, earning himself a side glare from Remus. « What? I’m only asking »  
« Yeah ah do actually. Ah came wi ma three mates, but we aw got separated. »  
Just on cue, Simon heard his name being called from the masses. He looked up, and sure enough, Mark was half-jogging towards him, looking ecstatic.  
« Si! Thir ye ur! Ah’d been looking for ye », he said when he reached the group.  
Simon saw James mouthing « Scottish » to Sirius, accompanied by an eye roll, and the pair fell into a fits of giggles. Mark didn’t pay much attention to them as he launched into a rant.  
« God, how has yir night been mate? Mine has been crazy. Ah met these lads, they’re the best, ye’d love thum. We staid up aw night talking », and indeed, Simon could now see the dark circles under his friend’s eyes. « Some ur in our year tae, so ah’ll huv classes wi thum! Can wi talk aboot the beds tae? They’re so nice, ah thought ah would never git up again. »  
Simon didn’t quite know what he was supposed to answer to that, but luckily Remus chimed in:  
« So I’m guessing you’re one of Simon’s mates? He was telling us how you guys got split up. »  
« Oh yeah, we did awright. Ah’m a Ravenclaw, ye see. Seems proper, it does », Mark answered, and Simon noted he didn’t have to do any hand-shaking. Must be to not fraternise with the enemy, or some shit. « C’moan Si, let’s go », he added after a short while, and Simon didn’t even ask "to do what", like he normally would have. It felt good to be on the receiving end of the don’t-question-and-follow for once.  
Remus lifted his hand and told him they’d see him later, and the Scottish boys exited the Great Hall.  
They spent a good part of the morning exploring the grounds, eventually finding a good spot and laying down side by side in the grass, sharing silence. Simon thought they were both lost in their own heads, but really they were both thinking about the exact same thing. About how long it had been since they’d done that. About how long it probably would be until they’d do it again. Simon wasn’t the kind of guy who usually thought about these things, unlike Mark, but he couldn’t help it this time. He liked to think he worried about his mate, when really he worried about himself. What would happen if Mark ditched him for the nice Ravenclaws he seemed to be so fond of already?  
Thankfully, Mark interrupted his train of thoughts  
« Oi, shouldn’t we go looking fir Spud an Franco? », he sat up, visibly worried.  
Oh yeah, that. Simon realised he had already forgotten, and he kicked himself mentally, getting up too.  
« Yeah, we better »

Spud came back to his common room, smiling stupidly. He still had a bit of trouble with the whole knocking pattern thing to get the door to open, but at least he didn’t have to learn a password. Mark even told him that he had to answer a riddle to access the Ravenclaw common room, and honestly, that sounded a bit fucked up to him.  
Overall, Spud had had a great day. Sure, he’d gotten lost and spent half the morning trying to find his way to the Great Hall, or to his friends, but that was okay. He was on the brink of really panicking when he ran into an older Ravenclaw student, who reluctantly led him out of the dungeons. He then roamed the grounds looking for a familiar face, and he found Simon and Mark near the lake.  
« We were looking for ye, ah swear! », Simon had said instantly. « We jist goat distracted »  
The trio had once again once looking for Franco, but they couldn’t find him anywhere and fully gave up when they bumped into a group of students Simon already seemed to know. Four older Gryffindors, who ended up being great company for the rest of the day.  
So, a genuine smile plastered upon his face, Spud made his way through the studying crowd of his common room and plopped down in one of the armchairs, almost forgetting entirely about his worries. Sure, he didn’t feel like he belonged any more than he did the previous day, but at least he knew Simon and Mark (and Franco, when he wasn’t god knows where) weren’t leaving him behind any time soon.

It was already well dark when Franco made his way back to the Slytherin common room. His stomach was grumbling, and yeah, maybe he should’ve eaten something today, but that didn’t matter much to him right now. He’d spent the whole day avoiding students, hiding in various bathrooms or empty classrooms. Franco’d been lucky with that at least, and it seemed none of his mates had been looking for him too hard. Or maybe he was just good at hiding. Either way, he had been able to indulge in his favourite past-time: feeling sorry for himself. This time though, he really had a reason, and a big one.  
He still hadn’t written to his parents about being sorted into Slytherin —being a Slytherin, he thought with a shudder— and he didn’t feel any better about it than he did the previous day. Franco had met the rest of his house after the feast, and he immediately decided he hated the lot of them. He’d looked at all the sneering and proud faces, and he couldn’t see at all how he was like any of them. But anyways. He was very ready to go in his bed and sulk some more, and he focused on that thought as he muttered the stupid password and got the common room to open.  
On the other side of the door stood a boy, his hand frozen in the hair, halfway to the door handle. He looked about Franco’s age, which meant he must’ve been a third or fourth year, and rocked the most impressively greasy hair Franco had ever seen.  
They stayed in their respective spots for a while, before the older boy blurted:  
« You weren’t at lunch and dinner today »  
« Wh- what? »  
The boy didn’t answer, and Franco, although quite confused, recovered enough to add:  
« No, ah wasnae. »  
« Name’s Severus », he replied, kicking into motion. He nudged Franco aside and disappeared quickly through the open door. Franco listened to the sound of his footsteps gradually fading out, and then he crossed the room, up the stairs and into his bed. The three other boys in his room were fast asleep, but Franco knew he wouldn’t join succumb to it for a long time. He didn’t even think about how miserable he was to be a Slytherin anymore, all his thoughts gravitating towards the strange boy, who’d somehow noticed his absence. Severus.  
When he felt he’d examined the subject from all angles, he closed his eyes, and slept soundly.


End file.
